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Ray Allen: Will I be a snub this year? Or will I make it into the All-Star Game?

John Hollinger: I suspect Allen will just slip in, and based on the first 22 games I believe he deserves to be there. Though I should point out that Allen has as many questionable All-Star selections as any player in history, with his laughable inclusion ahead of Chris Paul in 2006 heading the list, so perhaps this will be the year for karmic retribution.

I agree that there are always questionable all star selections each year, but for Hollinger to go so far to say it was "laughable" that Ray was selected instead of Chris Paul in 2006, and that him not making it this year would somehow be karmic payback?  That just seemed odd.  So I went back and checked the stats.  Ray put up 25,4 and 4 during that season, while shooting 45% from the field and 41% from downtown.  Paul, who was a rookie at the time, put up 16, 8 and 5, with 43% and 35% from the field and downtown, respectively.  He also had 2 spg.

Now we all know that Paul made his mark on the league right from the start, and everyone could tell he was gonna be a star, but he was still a rookie and was not the dominant point guard that we see today.  Also, it's very hard for a rookie to make the all star team.  LeBron James didn't make the team, and he was putting up over 20 ppg as a rookie.

Paul definitely deserved some all star mention his rookie year, but to say that it was "laughable" that Ray Allen, an almost certain future HOFer, made the team over a rookie seems a little off to me.